GRAND RAPIDS, MI – There’s a simple message that can propel a Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan victory in Michigan, according to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

The truth, Walker said while campaigning for the Republicans in Grand Rapids Thursday.

“If you have the truth and enough people are willing to spread the truth, you’ll win,” Walker said. “The truth is on our side.”

The truth, at least as Walker sees it, is that national unemployment remains high, the country’s debt continues to grow and President Barack Obama’s policies haven’t turned the economy around. The Romney and Ryan ticket will do that by returning job creation to entrepreneurs, removing regulatory burdens and shrinking government.

“The ‘R’ next to his name stands for reformer,” Walker said of Romney, noting his success in the private sector, as governor of Massachusetts and as an Olympic organizer.

“There have been men and women with the courage to think more about the future of their children and grandchildren. Let this be one of those moments that we can look back at and say we were there for them, that we can say we didn’t stand on the sidelines. We were in the game and we changed the course of history.”

Walker’s pitch couldn’t be more inaccurate, an Obama spokesman said.

“When Mitt Romney and his campaign talk about his economic credentials, they’re talking about a man who made a fortune as a corporate buyout specialist at Bain Capital, in large part by shipping American jobs overseas and devastating middle-class families and communities,” said Matt McGrath, Obama’s Michigan spokesman.

“It’s absolutely out of touch with reality,” he said. “Middle class taxpayers and swing voters here in Michigan are not going to let the status quo stand. They want to get out from a government driven system.

“More than anything they want leaders who are willing to take on the tough issues and who are willing to make tough decisions.”

Walker, during a 15-minute address to about 150 Romney supporters and an earlier meeting of area business leaders, said Romney and Ryan are more prepared for the jobs than any ticket in recent history.

Nanette Long, of Gaines Township, said she’s a Romney supporter. Long, however, was drawn to the rally to see Walker. She admires him for fighting back against unions in Wisconsin to pass what she considers substantive changes that led to a balanced state budget and a bright future.

“I consider him a superhero,” Long said. “And to think he backing Romney and Ryan, that says a lot about the ticket. They have that same energy, but it’s beyond that.”

Dick Wattez, and his wife, Tena, left impressed with Walker and even more dedicated to the soon-to-be GOP nominees. They saw a sense of optimism and bought into the parallel that the resurgence in Midwestern states led by Republican governors can spread across the nation.

“Hopefully it’s the beginning of a trend,” Dick Wattez said. “Get people that are interested in getting things done and getting something accomplished. Nothing is happening right now.”

Walker said common sense will lead to that Midwestern flavor in the Oval Office.

“We’re going to send a favorite son from Michigan and a favorite son from Wisconsin to be the president and vice president of the United States,” Walker said.